The One Terminal Dignity
by Irasi
Summary: "There is only one terminal dignity – love." Scorpius Malfoy is told to seduce a certain girl in order to salvage his family's reputation. A bit of dancing and flirting, then shoving a ring on her finger - what more could happen?  Scorpius/Rose.


"_There is only one terminal dignity __–_ love._" – Helen Hayes_

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**A/N: **Hi guys! I really love historical fiction, and I really love Harry Potter and Rose/Scorpius. Which brought me to this story! xD There's no particular time period, just anytime where people still wore fancy dresses on a day-to-day basis in Britain :P. Think Elizabethan to Victorian. And everyone's titles are from multiple time periods as well, chosen due to various reasons and coincidences. It pains me a little to ruin history like this, but it's for the sake of the story x].

Anyway, enjoy! :)

**Disclaimer:** JK Rowling is a goddess and the Creator of all things Harry Potter.

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Chapter 1: Plots**

"_What?_" Scorpius Malfoy leapt to his feet, aghast.

"You heard me." Draco paused in his steps, frowning slightly at his son's reaction.

"You want me to _seduce_ the king's niece? The Duke of Wellington's daughter?"

The Duke of Norfolk resumed his pacing by the windows. "Yes, precisely."

Scorpius sank back down on his armchair. "But Father – Your Grace – why – "

He looked beseechingly at his grandfather, seated on the chaise across from him. Lucius raised his pale eyebrows before answering, "We must regain our family's prestige. What better way to do this than to marry the daughter of the king's dearest friend?"

"There are a multitude of other things we could do, Grandfather! Why not try to build up our honor again by doing something ourselves, instead of forcing some poor girl into marriage!"

"It is the best way," Draco insisted, still pacing.

"No, it is not, Father. Do you know how hard it will be to even _talk_ to her? Wellington loathes our family. He will warn his daughter to avoid me like the plague." Scorpius ran his hand through his thick white-blond hair. "If we must go through with this marriage plan, why not try some other girl who we will be more likely to succeed with? Why not the Duke of Bedford's daughter? Or the Marquess of Willingdon's? Their families are close to the king as well."

"Not as close as Wellington's. The Duke is the king's own brother-in-law, and his daughter is the king's own niece."

"The king has three other unwed nieces whose fathers have great influence in the empire and less of a grudge against us."

Draco shook his head. "Wellington is the king's best friend as well as the Earl Marshal, giving him and his family, including his daughter, far greater influence than the rest of them. Besides, this girl is the niece closest in age to you, which works out nicely. Why settle for second-best when the best is very well within our reach?"

"Because it is _nowhere_ near our reach, Father," Scorpius snapped. "Wellington will never allow it."

"That is why you must seduce her, Scorpius." The Duke of Norfolk eyed his son seriously. "You must make her fall in love with you, so that she will _want_ to marry you. Her father cares much for his daughter. If she truly wants to marry you, he will not be likely to refuse her wishes."

Scorpius sighed frustratedly. "What about me? What of _my_ wishes? I know nothing of the girl."

"You may well come to like her," Lucius put in. "She is a likeable girl by all accounts – pretty, polite, and gentle."

"Is she well-educated?" demanded Scorpius. "I want a wife who won't bore me when she talks."

"Of course she is," his grandfather said, waving a hand carelessly. "Her mother is said to be the brightest woman in all of Britain, perhaps even in all of Europe."

Scorpius stared out into the gardens beyond the drawing room windows. "What does Mother have to say about this?"

"Your mother did not express her opinion," Draco replied. "But she knows that this is what is best for our family."

Scorpius said nothing and continued to gaze listlessly out the window, until his father's tall figure suddenly blocked his line of vision. "Listen to me, Scorpius." He raised his head slowly, finally reaching his father's stony face. "You must marry this girl. Our family name is in shambles. Do you know how close your grandparents and I were to being executed? We were wrong, I admit, getting involved in the plot against the king's life. We were saved by a hair, just because your grandmother got cold feet. The rest of the conspirators went straight to the Tower – your own great-aunt was beheaded. We should be grateful that the king spared us. He did not even imprison us or revoke our dukedom. But he did take the title of Earl Marshal away from us, when the Dukes of Norfolk have _always_ been Earl Marshal, and gave it to Wellington instead. The other nobles are still cautious around us, and everyone still suspects us. Your grandfather" – Scorpius glanced over at Lucius, who bowed his head slightly – "stepped down from his title because of the shame – he and your grandmother only go to court when the king expressly asks them to. I go there only to fulfill my duties as Duke of Norfolk. The Malfoy name used to command much respect, Scorpius. You _must_ marry Wellington's daughter to save our family. Earning her hand means earning her family's as well as the king and the country's acceptance once more."

Scorpius was silent for a moment, digesting his father's speech. Nothing about the plot concerning the king and its ramifications was new to him, but they were now being presented in an entirely different context. He finally said, "If this is such a good idea, Father, then why did _you_ not do it? You could have married the Duchess of Wellington, or the queen herself."

Draco gave an ungentlemanly snort. "The king and Wellington adore their wives. I would have been a fool to risk even further animosity from them. Besides, they would not have accepted me – I was involved in that plot. But I did marry the daughter of the highest-ranking family that would accept me. Not that I do not love your mother – I do, but if I could have done better than her, I would have. Our marriage did salvage a little of our family's name – but not enough."

Scorpius stiffened at the words about his beloved mother, but decided to let it pass. There was something else that his father had said that bothered him more. "You say that Wellington's wife would not have accepted you," he said slowly. "What makes you think her daughter will accept _me_?"

"The king is fond of judging people on their own merits, not their family's," Draco said impassively. He then hesitated, before saying in a much quieter voice, "Please, son."

Scorpius started – was his father _begging_? He _never_ begged.

"Please," his father said again, his grey eyes pleading. "Do this for our family."

Scorpius looked up at his father, taking in his imploring expression. He then turned to his grandfather, who wore the same look.

What ever happened to the proud and mighty Malfoys?

Finally, he sighed resignedly and nodded. "Fine. I will do as you ask. I will seduce Rose Weasley."

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**A/N:** So the Malfoys are the Dukes of Norfolk. I know that in the books, they live in Wiltshire, and so it would be better if they were the lords of that area, but then they'd only be the Marquesses of Salisbury, and I wanted them to be dukes. I chose Norfolk because I went on Wikipedia and searched up all the dukedoms in Britain and found that at one point, the surname of the Dukes of Norfolk was Mowbray, which was as close as I could get to Malfoy.

Ron is the Duke of Wellington. I looked at the list of dukedoms that Wikipedia gave me just like I did with the Malfoys and saw that the Dukes of Wellington's surname is Wellesley, which is soooo insanely similar to Weasley. And the first Duke of Wellington's first name was Arthur. And in the books, the Burrow is always littered with _Wellington_ boots xD. I was like, "Holy shit, this is _perfect_."

Neville is the Duke of Bedford because at one point, the Duke of Bedford's surname was Nevill. And Dean Thomas is the Marquess of Willingdon because the Marquesses of Willingdon's surname was Freeman-Thomas. Again, _perfect._

And Harry is king, if you didn't get that. All hail King Harry :)

Like I said, there's no particular time period. The setting is technically Britain, all their titles and stuff are British, and they _are_ British, but other than that, it's pretty much a vague, made up world. Don't kill me for butchering history like this.

I'm not sure how clear everything was. Please leave reviews telling me what you guys think!

I love you all :)

~ Irasi


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